In the rush to snaffle up those Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargains, shoppers often fail to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves when buying online.

But anyone who lets their guard down risks falling victim to fraud, with ‘Grinch-like’ cyber-fraudsters waiting to pounce.

There are tons of savings to be had, of course, but in some cases, the deals may not be what they seem. Mercifully, there are ways to avoid being duped by Black Friday and Cyber Monday scams (check out some key tips below).

Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime, this week released last year’s Christmas crime figures, showing that more than 15,000 victims lost around £16million, up 45 per cent on 2015.

It may come as a surprise, but men aged 20-29 were the most common victims, with online auction fraud accounting for 65 per cent of crime reports, the average loss being a whopping £727.

Mobiles phones continue to be the most likely thing that people try to buy from fraudsters, with clothing and accessories second on the list and footwear shooting up from sixth to third place. Watches have also overtaken jewellery and are now more commonly offered by fraudsters.

Action Fraud reckon that this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping bonanzas are set to be the most fraudulent on record as retailers are planning to bombard consumers with more than 40 million texts.

In an attempt to combat this, Action Fraud is warning shoppers to avoid clicking on links in shopping-related SMS and Whatsapp messages, over fears that criminals are jumping on a boom in legitimate “special offer” texts to steal people’s details.

Action Fraud’s DI Chris Felton said: “Black Friday is a prime opportunity for fraudsters to target shoppers looking for deals on Christmas presents. We have recently seen a spike in reporting of Whatsapp supermarket voucher scams so people should be cautious about Black Friday deals they receive in a Whatsapp message.

“We urge people to never click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact. Also clear your browsing history and cookies.

“Fraudsters may have installed cookies on your phone that track you, or add browser extensions that can be used to show you advertisements. If you believe you have fallen victim to fraud, please report it to us.”